1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to timepieces, and more particularly to timepieces and methods for measuring the elapsed time from the occurrence of one or more personal life time events.
2. Background Art
From the beginning of human civilization, society has been preoccupied with the passage of time. With the advent of the understanding of the concept of time, and the development of methods and devices for measuring time, society began to appreciate and record the history of events occurring around it. On a personal level too, it became important and desirable to note the occurrence of such events as birth, marriage, or the start of a career, profession, calling, vocation, pursuit, avocation, hobby, tenure, or regime, to name just a few examples. Such events are referred to herein as "personal life time events."
The celebrations of marriage and birth, for example, have become a universal tradition throughout the civilized world. Such celebrations usually occur on the anniversary date of such event. Such observances are as much a celebration of the original event as of the passage of time from such event.
The duration of a marriage, the age of an individual, or the tenure of an individual in a given profession, for example, is an important factor in how others view that marriage or the individual. Society generally recognizes as a noble achievement, that a marriage has lasted a long time. An individual is judged, in part, by his or her age, or by how long he or she has been practicing a given profession.
Notwithstanding this great attention society has directed to such personal life time events, heretofore, there has not been an attempt to monitor the elapsed times from the occurrence of such events. It would be an interesting and useful mechanism that provides a running account of the elapsed times from personal life time events. In one embodiment, an entire family tree could be presented which identifies each family member in his or her place in the genealogy of the family, together with his or her elapsed time from birth.
Timepieces for measuring elapsed time from given events are well known. Stop watches, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,526 to Tanaka et al., permit the accurate timing of events from a starting point to a ending point. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,285,430 to Decker, 5,058,085 to Lawler, 4,630,935 to Zettek, and 4,518,267 to Hepp disclose timepieces that measure elapsed times and time intervals from given events, none of which pertain to personal life time events as defined herein. These patents are primarily concerned with measuring the duration that a person has abstained from a particular activity or behavior, such as drinking or smoking. These patents are concerned with the achievement of a personal goal, e.g., to quit smoking or drinking. There is no suggestion in these patents that the elapsed time of a unique personal event, such as marriage or child birth, be measured.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,161 to Kendrick, a timepiece is disclosed for displaying the approximate time remaining in a person's life, rather than the actual elapsed time from birth. The measurement of actual elapsed times from a personal life time event is not described or suggested.